I'm a Dutchie who works for a French multinational. In my experience French are perfectly interested in viewpoints that originate from another cultural background. In fact, I notice they are valued. My viewpoints and approach has created moments of laughter an moments of thought, all in a good spirit.

Working in a French company can be strange and wonderful. Things can take a long time to mature because of how things work, the strive for perfection and trying to understand the whole world when addressing a specific issue contributes to that. I am sometimes shocked and frustrated by the fact that the word of hierarchy is not questioned, it especially seems surreal in the context of French history. Also, my head sometimes spins concerning the endless discussions surrounding irrelevant detail. On the other end I love it how constructive creativity of people is often appreciated and considered, not bound by strict rules, except ethical and safety constraints. If you have a great idea and can present it, you will be heard! I have seen great ideas and concepts mature into something very pragmatic and advanced.

I think the situation is not so bad with French society as some French may think themselves. I also think that the best of both worlds of the KL/AF merge has yet to come. I have the impression that some of the worst of both worlds has lead to the continuing erosion of the quality of their products. Too much focus on cost cutting (The Dutch factor) and unnecessary navel-gazing focus on low-cost markets (The Dutch/French factor), whilst at the same time trusting too much on continued loyalty of high yield markets with a weakening product (The French factor), imho. But signs of improvement are becoming visible.

Last but not least. Working and living amongst the French has taught me something very important: how to enjoy the good things in life.